The European Jewish Association formally lodged an appeal with the European Commission Wednesday 28 Tammuz to establish an EU Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat anti-Semitism, as part of its ongoing campaign to call on Europe to take a leading role in tackling the problem amid rising anti-Semitism in Europe.

Having secured the support of a number of cross-party members of the European Parliament, united in their desire to see a more cohesive approach to tackling anti-Semitism across the Member States, EJA General Director submitted the appeal along with the MEP�s signatures to First Vice-President Frans Timmermans, as he called for a specially-appointed envoy to be charged with not only fighting but also monitoring anti-Jewish acts, to �ensure we have an accurate assessment of the scope of the problem and continue to take a proactive approach to combating it�.

Recalling the significant security measures taken by governments of some of Europe�s largest and most historic Jewish communities, Rabbi Margolin argued that �the solution [to anti-Semitism] doesn�t lie in security alone�. Invoking last year�s Global Survey on Anti-Semitism by the Anti-Defamation League, which found that anti-Semitic attitudes hit an average of 24% in Western Europe compared to 34% in Eastern Europe, he concluded that a broader approach across all EU Member States and all governmental departments was necessary, �as many member states do not have adequate mechanisms in place to themselves accurately monitor levels of anti-Semitism domestically�, so could not begin to tackle the true scale of the problem.

Rabbi Margolin has repeatedly lobbied for the establishment of an EU Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, after the US model, to help advance the EU�s policies on tackling anti-Semitism as a whole.

Signatories of the EJA�s appeal to establish an EU Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat anti-Semitism to date are: Vice-President Adina Valean MEP, BastiaanBelder MEP, AnnelieseDodds MEP, Seb Dance MEP, Juan Carlos Girauta Vidal MEP, Milan Zver MEP, Jude Kirton-Darling MEP, Angel Dzhambazki MEP, Tom�Zdechovsk� MEP, Gy�rgy H�LV�NYI MEP, Petras Austrevicius MEP, Brando Maria Benifei MEP, Ramon TremosaiBalcells MEP, Charles Goerens MEP, Martina Anderson MEP, Lynn Boylan MEP, Liadh N�R�ada MEP, Matt Carthy MEP, Lars Aduktusson MEP, Dr.ArtisPabriks MEP, DavorStier MEP, Philippe Juvin MEP, HannuTakkula MEP, Olga Sehnalov� MEP, Theresa Griffin MEP, Jan Zahradil MEP, Cecilia Wikstr�m MEP, Peter NIEDERM�LLER MEP, Jan Albrecht MEP, TatjanaZdanoka MEP, Soraya Post MEP, and Luigi Morgano MEP.

(YWN � Israel Desk, Jerusalem)